Many shoes or other articles of footwear include cleats designed to provide traction or a gripping function for the shoe when standing, walking, or running on soft ground. Examples of such shoes that may have cleats include hiking shoes or other athletic shoes, such as baseball shoes, soccer shoes, football shoes, or golf shoes. The term “cleat” as used herein is intended to refer to any member arranged on the underside of footwear (such as, for example, on the sole of the footwear) in order to provide traction or gripping ability for the wearer of the footwear, Examples of cleats include, without limitation, spikes, studs, blades and other protrusions provided on such shoes.
If the shoes are to be used on different ground conditions, it is advantageous if the cleats are releasably attached to the sole to allow the shoes to be adapted to the different ground conditions. For example, shorter cleats may be desired on a relatively dry field, and longer cleats may be desired on a relatively muddy field. In addition to being able to adapt the shoe to a particular ground condition, replaceable cleats on a shoe are also desirable such that old and worn cleats may be easily replaced without the need for a new shoe.
Releasable cleats are typically attached to the soles of shoes using threaded posts that engage a receptacle on the sole of the shoe having complimentary threads. The cleats are rotated by the user until they are tightened on the shoe. However, the ending orientation of the spike is difficult to determine, as the cleat is typically rotated until it is tight against the sole of the shoe, without regard for the ending orientation of the cleat. Although the ending orientation of the cleat is sometimes unimportant, such as the case with relatively round/conical studs, other cleats are directional in nature and their orientation may indeed be important. Examples of directional cleats include, without limitation, blades for baseball or soccer cleats and various other cleats that are not substantially round or conical.
Another issue with some cleats is that the traditional threaded post arrangement often results in cleat pressure that may be felt on the interior of the shoe when the cleat is tightened against the sole of the shoe. In particular, the wearer of the shoe may be able to feel the end of the center threaded post pushing against the sole of the foot when walking or running. Of course, this may be uncomfortable for the wearer.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a shoe with detachable cleats that may be oriented in any of several different directions when secured to the shoe. It would also be advantageous if a single shoe could be used for different types of cleats, such as a single shoe accommodating football studs, golf spikes, baseball spikes or soccer cleats. In addition, it would be advantageous if such cleats could reduce or eliminate cleat pressure.